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Friday, April 03, 2009

Merci, Au Revoir

When you leave a shop as you go out the door say,

"Merci, au revoir"

I'm back in NYC but I want to say "Merci, au revoir" to all the good things Paris gave me. Merci Metro for my Passe Navigo Merci Paris baguettes for letting me follow you everywhere, even in a café. Thank you Paris cafes. You're the best! No matter how much we try to copy you, you're unique Parisien entity. Thank you Paris Printemps weather for being consistently gorgeous.Merci Parisien girls for showing me how to wear my sac and tie my écharpe.And how to walk the "Paris Walk" Thank you for having the most beautiful fleuriste shops in the world. Thank you Paris facades. I love you more than ever.Merci patisserie Pierre Herme. I visited so many times I lost count. I was always surprised and delighted.The Paris Lines - I learned to love you atpatisserie Gerard Mulot(chef Mulot on the left checking everything).

Thank you Paris for letting me get lost many times and discover new things. THANK YOU Paris monuments.

Thank you window reflections for helping catch Paris' beauty both inside and outside.

Thank you Paris' Jack Russell terriers who made me giggle.

Thank you Paris Vélibs for making the air sooooo much cleaner!

Thank you Rickfor being a terrific friend and giving me exactly the right kick in the pants I needed.

70 comments:

Your blog is totally charming. I've only been following you for a couple of months but I check you everyday. You were so lucky to have been in Paris at this most beautiful time. Because of you (and some other blogs) I am now determined to find some french macaroons. Might be a hard job here in the midwest! Thanks for entertaining me.

Thanks, Carol for taking us to Paris with you - I always enjoy your trips to Paris for all the interesting stories and pictures you post for us - it's fun to see Paris through your eyes - and also because I receive your delightful "paris breakfasts" first thing in the morning. I'm glad you enjoyed your visit and thanks again for all you write - I have the La Petite Marquise on my "to do" list for my visit in September.

As usual a WONDERFUL POST. I look forward every morning to receiving your emails, while you were away!!How did you get the Navigo, you had an address to have it delivered to? Also, can you still use the Carte Orange?Thanks for any info.Pat

Carol,That was an absolutely infectious, heartfelt merci to both of our favorite cities!I just wanted to leap into the computer and start the walk! Your euphoria is palpable.... now you must start planning your next visit.

What a wonderful ending tribute to your trip. I enjoyed every day of it with you... virtually. I have come to know more about Paris then I would ever have known by all your lovely trips over there, but this one was by far your best yet. I cant wait to see what you come up with in paintings now that you are home. Wonderful post. Happy weekend, get rested up.

I recently came accross your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I dont know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

This is one of your most lovely posts ever, I am actually sitting in San Francisco with tears running down my cheeks--so touched am I by your photos and words. It reminds me of just how special Paris is, and you must surely love it as much as I do...you have captured so much of the daily charms, my heart aches to be back but until I can, I feel lucky to have your photos and reminders. Welcome back, and certainly...au revoir.

Merci for all your photos and jargon about your visit to Paris. I loved the tour of Momartre.

Your concluding mention of climbing stairs brought to mind our apartment stay back in 2002. It was a tiny studio apartment in a building built in 1705.

Our “pigeonnier” was up ninety-six (96!) well worn escaliers to the “fourth” floor! Back home in Chicago we climb 41 steps up to our third floor apartment. (41/3 = 13.6 stairs/floor) Applying that to our Paris apartment: 96/13.6 = 7 floors, not 4 floors! Our view was of the inner "courtyard" of our building, surrounded by roofs, chimneys, windows and a church tower with a large bell. It was everything I had hoped it to be. On a Sunday, I tape recorded the "symphony" of the church bell mixed with surrounding bells from other churches. Each morning we awakened to the peal of that bell. The only thing missing was being able to lean out and see the street or a vista of Paris, preferably with the Eiffel Tower in view.

This post is one of the best you have written! While I was reading it, I was about crying. You are such a fan of Paris and it was great to take a walk with you on the Parisian streets. Paris is already missing you, so come back so. There is ENCORe a lot of things to discover! A bientôt!

Oh my goodness!! What a beautiful post. As I told you, I have only been to Paris once, but oh so hope to go again and your wonderful posts cement that. What a beautiful staircase! The Raspberries, The chocolate, etc., etc. But most of all THE TOWER, indeed it is always breathtaking, every picture of it, every trinket, but NOTHING compares to being there beside it.

It sounds as if your trip was good for your soul, may you be refreshed and have a reflective weekend.Bonjour,Julie

Merci, au revoir. Your blog is a delight. My first and only trip to Paris was during Spring Break 3 years ago, and it was the best trip of my life. Now, thanks to you, I feel I've spent Spring Break in Paris once more. Merci.

Thank you so much for your delightful tour of Paris. I was able to visit just once in my life (my one and only time out of the US) and it was life changing. I, too, learned to walk and climb stairs, fell in love with the Metro, and found I could communicate almost anything everytime I got lost and someone came to my aid. What an amazing city - and you captured it beautifully.

Welcome back. I am glad you enjoyed Paris so much. I felt I was right in step with you as I know most of what you showed and now have a few more places to visit on my next trip. There is another French saying that maybe is more bitter but still very true when it comes to Paris. Dire au revoir c'est comment mourir un peu.salutRené

You should be thankfull to the 6 flights of stairs! not only they are beautiful but they let you free of eating anything you wanted! Next june I'll be in Paris and, even though I know it pretty well,thanks to your blog I'll have lots of new places to look at. Thank you for your reports and have a good and safe journey back home. Rosanna

a huge welcome home though i know you, like myself would still like to be away....oh my do we get to sample the wonderful macarons? i would love to try just one :) pretty please?anyway, i so enjoyed your posts...unlike you i was unable to post daily so now i am posting and posting my trip at my blog. do stop by when you have time, if you'd like of course.until later...again welcome home from erin in virginia

Thank you, Carol. I love the doggies, the artistic pastry and so many of the Paris delights that you feature.Your artful blog is a daily, joyful remembrance of my trips to Paris. Thank you again for all of your effort and the sharing of your sense of humor and artistic talent. You enrich me! Thank you again!

I have been enjoying reading about your trips and looking at your gorgeous watercolours, I love your work. I haven't managed a trip to Paris for quite some time now, will definitely explore some of your favourite places next time I get the chance to go, Pierre herme and Laduree are first on my list. A bit of trivia for you, 'ce n'est qu'un au revoir' is how the lyrics 'auld lang syne' are translated in French , as a French woman who has been living in Scotland for 16 years I thought I would share this with you. Sabine

Happy you're home safe and sound Carol and that you had such an incredible trip again. With such fresh and amazing inspiration,I really am looking forward to your new paintings.

What I really adore about your posts is that somehow, you magically manage to take your readers with you along your journey; through the gorgeous visuals and spellbinding text, it almost feels as though we really are tagging along - it's really neat. Thank you.

So you are home. The site has been a sight that has been precious to me, and I guess all good things must end. THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES! I so wish I had embraced Paris like you did when I had the chance to be there.Polly

Carole, Thanks for sharing your Paris trip with me. It's an amazing place that gets under your skin and you need to revisit often......No matter if it's art, design, or just walking in Paris it's the BEST!Glad you had a great trip.You have a nice weekend too.Sincerely,Diana T.

Your "painted dreams" are great. We're headed to Paris the first week of May armed with watercolor blocks, moleskinne watercolor pads, winsor newton watercolor sets and conte crayons, cameras and a gaggle of memory cards, and an unhealthy appetite for French desserts. Many thanks for the inspirations.

I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

I was reading this bittersweet post on a Blackberry in my mom's hospital room. Even under those circumstances, you carried me along with you. And lifted my spirits. You give me new ways to look and I'll be taking my camera along with the usual notebooks on our daughter's college tour in a week. Ithaca, Poughkeepsie, Tacoma and Portland aren't Paris but I will work on capturing their essence with what I've learned from reading your blog. Merci as always.

thank you carol for your wonderful wonderful wonderful posts of paris. I have only been there once and spent most of my time in the museums and so missed a lot of the wonders that you have described in your blog. Being mainly on flickr (borromini bear) I only discovered your blog this week so I have many wonderful posts that I can go and read later!!! Today's post was a sensational way to end!! I am jealous you have been hanging out with Rick Tulka at Le Select!

Carol, it sounds like you really took advantage of your trip more than ever this time. I can just feel your nostalgia and love for it all here. Well done! You sound like you really enjoyed yourself. What a great photo of Rick and his bike, too! Welcome home, and thanks for the armchair traveling!

What a victory you had in Paris! We are all so thrilled with your pictures and comments--you brought a happy tear to my eye more than once with your wonderful observations. Keep e-mailing us if you can and let us know where we can ever see you "work" in person. Linda

Hello Carol, I am one of your francophile fans that avidly reads your wonderful and inspiring blog Paris Breakfast. I simply had to drop you a line to tell you "un grand merci", like you I love Paris, and I have been there quite a few times. What I find so beautiful and refreshing about your blog is that whenever I read it and admire the photos, it feels like I am there too!Keep up the excellent work and I wish you to get back to Paris very soon!With best wishes from across the pond,Paola

So, what is the correct way to tie your scarf?! And were many women wearing them; there didn't seem to be so many in your photos.Thanks for a wonderful visit to Paris through your blog! Great ideas for places to go when I get there one of these days.

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Paris, Ile de France, France

I moved to Paris 2 years ago. I should have done it sooner but that's how the macaron crumbles. Living on the Ile Saint Louis next to the Seine after the 19eme is 'la cerise sur la gâteau'. It doesn't get any better. I've painted watercolors for Bocuse, Champagne Mumm, Guerlain, Frederick Cassel, The Russian Tearoom and the Maharana of Udaipur.
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